Nitzer Ebb frontman Douglas McCarthy dies age 58 after serious health diagnosis

Douglas McCarthy, best known as the co-founder and frontman for Nizter Ebb, has died at age 58.
He had previously stepped away from performing after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, a serious and incurable scarring of the liver.
The influential 90s dance band announced his death on Instagram with a statement asking for privacy at this time.
'It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform that Douglas McCarthy passed away this morning of June 11th, 2025,' it read. 'We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife, and family in this difficult time.
'We appreciate your understanding and will share more information soon.'
No cause of death was given but in March 2024, McCarthy stepped down from touring after his diagnosis.
In a statement at the time he said he had been sober for two years but 'following years of alcohol abuse' was suffering from liver cirrhosis.
McCarthy added that 'recovery is a long process' and did not rejoin the band on tour.
Nitzer Ebb formed in 1982, consisting of McCarthy and his school friends Vaughan 'Bon' Harris and David Gooday.
Gooday and McCarthy met when they were just 10 years old, forming the band in their teen years and bonding over a love of sneaking into discos and nightclubs.
After experimenting with post-punk sounds, the band evolved into a more industrial and electronic genre — becoming one of the biggest names in the electronic body scene.
McCarthy has cited artists like Roxy Music, Slade, Talking Heads, and even Showaddywaddy as influences on their music.
In 1987, the group released debut album, That Total Age, and secured a number nine spot on the Billboard Club chart with Join the Chant. More Trending
They toured with Depeche Mode and continued to rise in prominence with various tracks charting such as Control I'm Here, Lightning Man and Fun to be Had.
In 1995, Nitzer Ebb split with McCarthy moving to Los Angeles and Detroit before reloacting home to the UK and studying design and film at Cambridge.
After a decade-long break, Nitzer Ebb reunited in 2007 and three years later released one final LP called Industrial Complex.
While they continued to tour, McCarthy dropped his own solo album, Kill Your Friends, as well as Recoil with Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode.
Got a story?
If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you.
MORE: 'Underrated' 90s thriller compared to Criminal Minds is finally coming to Netflix
MORE: Scarface and Ghostbusters star Harris Yulin dies age 88
MORE: The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson's daughter 'at a loss for words' after his death

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Record

an hour ago

• Daily Record

Golf star reacts to 'mashed potato' and 'baba booey' yells from fans

Denny McCarthy doesn't get annoyed at increasingly daft shouts from the galleries Amused Denny McCarthy reckons golf gobs are just a bit of fun. The increasingly ridiculous shouts of punters at tournaments, particularly in the United States, grates with a host of pundits and watching TV viewers as they gawp at the bizarre behaviour. ‌ Senseless shouts like 'Mashed Potato' and 'Light the Candle' are yelled out as players hit balls in events to the bemusement and irritation of most observers. ‌ On a tough day, you would imagine it must make some Tour pros want to throttle the offenders, yet McCarthy sees the lighter side after being asked his thoughts on the situation. He said: 'I don't mind it. I think it's a fun part of the game. Obviously you hear the 'Baba Booey' and you hear some of these other ones that you've heard for such a long time. "It's just fans trying to have fun out there. Maybe they've got fans listening, like: Hey, I'm with Rory [McIlroy], listen to his sixth tee shot, I'm going to yell something, stuff like that. It's just a fun part of the game.' Shouts or no shouts, McCarthy has plenty of reasons to smile at the Travelers as he sits just two off the leaders Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas at the halfway mark. He survived the wind woe on day two and said: 'It felt nice to shoot a good score. I haven't played all that great lately, but I've put a lot of work in this week and started to see some good form the last few days. ‌ 'I'm just proud of how I battled. It was really tricky, would blow 25 one minute and then would drop down to 15, go to five and then kick back up. "When it's really gusty like that and changing directions like that, it's hard to get the yardages right. I do enjoy these conditions. My weather app said 14, 15, 16 miles an hour. "It's a liar because it was blowing like 25 to 30 on the range it felt like this morning. Umbrellas were kind of blowing around. People were kind of just laughing hitting balls. ‌ 'It's felt better the last few days. I feel like I can still improve on it. Just keep trying to stack days is important for me right now. It is the simple kind of fundamental stuff for me. "I try and keep the game really simple. When I start worrying too much about what the club is doing is typically when I'm not playing my best. "It's like I work on the stuff on the range and then it's like I get on the course and I'm still doing the same stuff. I might have that small key in my head, but it becomes almost like a different sport when you get on the range. "You've got to forget what you're doing on the range and then just go out, picture, play, and hope that some of those feels that you've been working on on the range have seeped into your on-course stuff.'

Metro

12-06-2025

• Metro

Nitzer Ebb frontman Douglas McCarthy dies age 58 after serious health diagnosis

Douglas McCarthy, best known as the co-founder and frontman for Nizter Ebb, has died at age 58. He had previously stepped away from performing after being diagnosed with liver cirrhosis, a serious and incurable scarring of the liver. The influential 90s dance band announced his death on Instagram with a statement asking for privacy at this time. 'It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform that Douglas McCarthy passed away this morning of June 11th, 2025,' it read. 'We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife, and family in this difficult time. 'We appreciate your understanding and will share more information soon.' No cause of death was given but in March 2024, McCarthy stepped down from touring after his diagnosis. In a statement at the time he said he had been sober for two years but 'following years of alcohol abuse' was suffering from liver cirrhosis. McCarthy added that 'recovery is a long process' and did not rejoin the band on tour. Nitzer Ebb formed in 1982, consisting of McCarthy and his school friends Vaughan 'Bon' Harris and David Gooday. Gooday and McCarthy met when they were just 10 years old, forming the band in their teen years and bonding over a love of sneaking into discos and nightclubs. After experimenting with post-punk sounds, the band evolved into a more industrial and electronic genre — becoming one of the biggest names in the electronic body scene. McCarthy has cited artists like Roxy Music, Slade, Talking Heads, and even Showaddywaddy as influences on their music. In 1987, the group released debut album, That Total Age, and secured a number nine spot on the Billboard Club chart with Join the Chant. More Trending They toured with Depeche Mode and continued to rise in prominence with various tracks charting such as Control I'm Here, Lightning Man and Fun to be Had. In 1995, Nitzer Ebb split with McCarthy moving to Los Angeles and Detroit before reloacting home to the UK and studying design and film at Cambridge. After a decade-long break, Nitzer Ebb reunited in 2007 and three years later released one final LP called Industrial Complex. While they continued to tour, McCarthy dropped his own solo album, Kill Your Friends, as well as Recoil with Alan Wilder of Depeche Mode. Got a story? If you've got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@ calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we'd love to hear from you. MORE: 'Underrated' 90s thriller compared to Criminal Minds is finally coming to Netflix MORE: Scarface and Ghostbusters star Harris Yulin dies age 88 MORE: The Beach Boys' Brian Wilson's daughter 'at a loss for words' after his death

Daily Mail​

12-06-2025

• Daily Mail​

90s music star dies after battle with cirrhosis

90s music icon Douglas McCarthy has passed away at the age of 58, his bandmates confirmed. Born and raised in Essex, the musician co-founded electric body music band Nitzer Ebb, who thrived throughout the 1980s and early 1990s. The group announced his passing on their official social media channels on Thursday. Their statement read: 'It is with a heavy heart that we regret to inform that Douglas McCarthy passed away this morning of June 11th, 2025. 'We ask everyone to please be respectful of Douglas, his wife, and family in this difficult time. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. 'We appreciate your understanding and will share more information soon.' While Douglas's cause of death is yet to be confirmed, he was forced to pull out of a European tour with Nitzer Ebb in March 2024 due to liver cirrhosis. Douglas said at the time that the disease had been caused by 'years of alcohol abuse... for over two years I have not been drinking, but recovery is a long process.' Nitzer Ebb was formed by McCarthy and bandmates Bon Harris and David Gooday in Chelmsford, Essex, in 1982 before the band went onto pioneer the British industrial music scene. With a stripped down and aggressive style, the group shot to stardom by combining combined synthesizers with incredibly raw vocals. Front man Douglas was at the forefront of his band's success, leading Nitzer Ebb with a style he described as 'shouting and pointing'. The band released their debut album That Total Age in 1987 before going onto release a string of projects the following decade including Showtime and Ebbhead. They broke up in 1996 but got back together in 2006 and had been touring ever since. Later this year, McCarthy and his bandmates had been set to embark on a tour of North America. A host of supporters paid tribute to Douglas following his death this week, including co-founder Bon Harris. The 59-year-old described his band mate as 'one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known', calling his passing a 'profound loss'. Other tributes read: 'I hope he knew how much he was loved and appreciated by his fans', 'Just heartbreaking. Very underrated band and he was a very nice guy when I met him in 1990. RIP.', 'So sad to learn of his passing. Just saw NE (Nitzer Ebb) without him last month in Detroit and, of course, it wasn't the same without him. His voice and sound was so influential and it rocked my world in the 90s. Was lucky to get to see them perform 3 times. Was said to learn his liver was failing from alcohol abuse and he had to quit touring because of it. RIP Douglas McCarthy!', 'A true pioneer. Absolute energy and passion into every song. Really struggling to come to terms with this'.